441 
Rev. Dr. Irons. — As to the want of a logic at Oxford, I must leave Dr. 
Thornton’s statement untouched. But the statement made by Mr. Mitchell 
is of much more importance, that there really has been no effort made by 
Christian writers to inform the world as to what is Christian morality. I 
say that the very careful treatise of Thomas Aquinas ought to save us from 
the imputation that the world has been careless on this subject. Every one 
of the Christian virtues has been analyzed with the most minute care by that 
profound scholar, and although his method is not the modem method, still I 
say his conclusions are very careful and exact. Another remark has been 
made by Mr. Mitchell, which almost discourages me in the work I have 
undertaken. He almost goes the length of saying that anything like a 
careful and logical consideration of ethics is entirely a mistake, and that 
instead of making men good and moral, it will make them worse than they 
were before 
Rev. W. Mitchell. — I was referring to the casuists. 
Rev. Dr. Irons. — In the paper I am going to read before the Institute I 
shall try to be careful and practical. I understood Mr. Mitchell to say 
that careful study in morals is to be deprecated. May I ask him to explain 
to us what he means by that statement ? 
Rev. W. Mitchell. — Dr. Irons has entirely misapprehended the drift of 
my remarks, which were as to the value of teaching the people in general, 
reaching the large masses of uninformed people, and influencing vast bodies 
of men. What I say is, that no system of ethical philosophy, independent of 
revelation, has produced such marvellous results in the world. I believe it 
could be done now if it has not been done already, and I believe a great deal 
has been done in this country by the clergy since the Reformation as well as 
by the clergy before the Reformation — by such men as Thomas Aquinas — 
to work out a pure system of ethical philosophy. I believe that if we were 
to hunt among the books in our libraries we might derive a very good system 
cut of what we already possess. I do not think there is such a dearth of 
ethical philosophy as seems to be believed, but I believe if all this were done 
to morrow it would not influence the masses. It might be of importance to 
meet the infidel with a system of well-reasoned ethics, and to show that we 
have in that only evolved the ethical principles of the Bible. I think that 
might be of importance, but I believe that such a system would not influence 
the masses 
Rev. Dr. Irons. — Did any one say that we were to use ethical philosophy 
as a means of evangelizing the people ? All we wish is that the metaphysics 
of to-day may become the common sense of a century hence. 
Rev. W. Mitchell. — With regard to cases of conscience I was only 
referring to those writers on ethics who took up that particular branch of 
casuistry called cases of conscience, and I still hold to my opinion that that 
is a very painful study indeed for those whose duty requires them to enter 
upon it, and unwholesome food for the mind. One has to approach it 
as one would go into a dissecting-room to learn morbid anatomy and the 
